Work: A website is (re)born.

A few years back, clients at Produxs in Seattle turned that old saying about the cobbler's children having no shoes on its head. (Or feet?) Produxs, which later combined forces with Peak Systems to become UpTop, was a user experience (UX) design firm, which means they were experts in designing interactive experiences ... websites, apps, software and the like. But like many companies, they were busy working and making money, and the work they wanted to do on their own website sat on the back burner.

Another home page customer success story graphic

When I began working with Produxs as its writer/communicator-on-call, the team invited me to click through the site and offer up a new visitor's perspective (or in UX parlance, a new "user" perspective).

I made a list of observations of what I considered to be the good, the bad and the much-needed. Most of what I suggested had to do with words and content, as I'm no designer, but I did note any confusing or time-consuming navigation problems.

A few months later, Produxs unveiled a streamlined, inviting new home on the web, and I'm proud to have been involved in the word-smithing part of the project. When Produxs and Peak became UpTop, I also wrote the content for UpTop's new home on the web.

Below are a few screenshots from the Produxs website overhaul; just click to see the copy and design in greater detail.

For more examples, please visit my Behance.net portfolio site; I'm also happy to send you additional links and examples that I'm unable to post here.

Daniel Pink's perfect story hook for 'To Sell Is Human'

I went to see best-selling nonfiction author Daniel Pink talk about his new book, To Sell Is Human, Tuesday night at Quail Ridge Books, and while I'm only a chapter or so into it, I already like one choice he made: threading the story of Norman Hall, the very last Fuller Brush salesman, throughout the book.

And then, with the suddenness of an unexpected knock on the door, the Fuller brush man–the very embodiment of 20th-century selling–practically disappeared. ... Norman Hall, however, remains at it. In the mornings, he boards an early bus near his home in Rohnert Park, California, and rides ninety minutes to downtown San Francisco. He begins his rounds at about 9:30 AM and  walks 5 to 6 miles each day, up and down the sharply inclined streets of San Francisco. 

I took an instant liking to Norman Hall and his inexhaustible devotion to the Fuller Brush, and I can't wait to see how Pink weaves in his story.

That's a strong start, and makes me think I'll like his other books, too – and what author doesn't want that kind of reaction from his/her reader after only two chapters?